Confirmed - Schlecks' team to be called Leopard-Trek

There’s been months of speculation about the true title of the team which has been referred to as the Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project in all communications from its management. The official launch will take place in Luxembourg at 8pm and, with several hours remaining, the French newspaper L’Equipe has said that the squad will be called Leopard-Trek. This has since been confirmed by team management.

The first part of the name refers to the holding company Leopard True Racing. In late October general manager Brian Nygaard officially denied that the team would be called this.

“Leopard True Racing is the name of the project behind the new squad,” Nygaard explained to the Luxemburger Wort. “The name of this structure should not be confused with the actual team name; both are different things.

“I can assure you that for 2011 the team name will not be Leopard True Racing,” he confirmed.

Leopard-Trek is not much of a variation on that, of course, but it will indeed be the name. The second half of the title is of course the team’s bike sponsor which, like Garmin’s supplier Cervélo, is putting in a bigger amount than would normally be the case, moving up into the named sponsor category.

Trek also sponsors Team RadioShack. Cervélo’s prominence and the fact that Specialized supply three teams – Team Saxo Bank, HTC-Highroad and Astana – means that bike companies are stepping up their commitment to ProTeam racing, putting in more in order to ensure that they protect their stake of the market.

Team RadioShack does not have backing past the end of the season and with big name US riders such as Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer no longer Tour contenders and moving closer to retirement, the American company has moved across to the younger generation. Andy Schleck has twice finished second in the Tour de France and backing him could ensure that Trek will chasing what would be its tenth Tour de France victory this summer.

His brother Frank is also potentially a contender, while Fabian Cancellara is expected to continue winning Classics and Tour de France stages.

The team is far more than just being about those three, of course; it includes a host of talented riders, including Jakob Fuglsang, Linus Gerdeman, Daniele Bennati, Brice Feillu, Jens Voigt and Stuart O’Grady. It is ranked number one on the UCI’s hierarchy of teams for 2011 and is expected to have an impressive first season.